10. The Sacrifice

I kept tossing and turning all night, and when I went to get up, I smacked into something. I turned on my lamp and saw Damon standing in my room.

“What the hell do you want?” I growled as I glared at him.

Damon just stood there, and looked at me, but I wasn’t going to back down from this because he can’t just use me. I know that I’ve probably used him, but I actually haven’t because Damon was the one that pursued me, and not the other way around.

“You can stand there all day, but I’m not forgiving you.” I told him as I went to walk around him, but stopped because Damon grabbed my wrist.

“Why should I believe you?” I asked a little more calmly, but I still had my guard up.

“You shouldn’t, but would I lie to you?” Damon questioned as he looked at me.

It took me a second to think about it, but I knew that Damon has never lied to me. I didn’t know what to think at the moment, but I knew that I had to do something about this.

“I’m not sure if I believe you 100%, but I do believe that we need space from each other, so please leave and give me time to think this through.” I finally said after a few minutes.

Damon looked sad, I think, and nodded his head before he left. I felt somewhat guilty, but then again, I didn’t because I knew what he was capable of. I went back to sleep, and slept until my phone woke me up because Tyler texted me, and told me that he wanted to see me. I texted back and told him that I would be there soon. I got up, showered, got dressed, grabbed my stuff, and headed out the door. I also grabbed a cereal bar because I knew that I didn’t have time to eat breakfast. I parked my car and headed over to Tyler, who was shooting hoops, when Matt walked up.

“Hey, man. How are you doing?” Matt asked.

“Good. You?” Tyler replied as he walked closer to Matt.

I just stood off to the side and watched everything go down, but I was close enough to separate them if I had to.

“Pissed at myself for picking a fight with you. And feeling guilty for what happened to Sarah. I mean, I’ve been dodging you for days… because I didn’t know what to say to you.” Matt replied back, and I felt bad for both of them.

“Hey, don’t worry about it, man.” Tyler said and I knew that he meant it.

“I’m really sorry. Please know that.” Matt said before he handed the ball back to Tyler, and walked off.

“That was sweet of him.” I said as I walked up to Tyler.

“Yeah, I guess it was.” I said back with a sigh, and I knew that I would have to break down his walls, again, if I want him to talk to me.

I stood there as him and Caroline talked about what he was going to do on the full moon, when I got a call from Stefan, telling me to come to the boarding house. I slowly slipped away and drove over there, only to be met by Bonnie and Jeremy. Damon filled me in, and I didn’t know what to think.

I stood behind Jeremy, who was sitting in a chair holding something, and watched as Bonnie did some magic. I’m still learning magic, but I know how to do simple stuff. I walked out to the car with Stefan and Damon, and I knew that something was off.

“Everything ok, Ryleigh?” Stefan asked as he and Damon looked at me.

“I don’t know.” I replied, which made Stefan and Damon give me a look.

When we got to the tomb, Bonnie, Stefan, and I walked down the steps, and we noticed that the moonstone was sitting outside the tomb. Katherine brought out Jeremy, and Stefan had to grab me to keep me from running in.

“Please Katherine. Please, don’t do this.” I begged as she threw Jeremy in the back.

Katherine didn’t hear me because she kept on walking. I finally got free of Stefan, and ran in after her. She stopped feeding from Jeremy and looked at me. To say the least, she was shocked that I had my gun pointed at her.

“What are you doing Ryleigh?” Katherine asked as she stood up.

“I want him back.” I growled as I nodded my head toward Jeremy.

“Ahhhh. You still love him, don’t you?” Katherine asked with a slight smirk on her face.

I let my guard down for a split second, and that’s when Katherine took my gun. She unloaded it, and then gave it back to me before she dragged Jeremy to the entrance. I followed behind and made she that Katherine didn’t harm him, again, but she did when she elbowed him.

“You ok?” I asked Jeremy, but he was more focused on Bonnie.

I finally got the message when Stefan ran in and threw Jeremy out, but got stuck in the process. I looked at Stefan and felt bad for him.

“You should go, Ryleigh. You need to sleep.” Stefan said as he glanced over at me, and saw that I was looking at Bonnie and Jeremy.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep, Stefan, but I’ll try.” I said as I headed out of the tomb. Before I left, I hugged Stefan tight because I knew that it would be a while before I saw him again. He hugged back, and I finally left the tomb.

I knew that I would have to face Jeremy, so I went to Elena’s to get my stuff I left over there, and saw Jeremy and Bonnie kiss, until Bonnie told him that she couldn’t. I felt bad for him, but then again I didn’t because Bonnie was doing the right thing by not getting involved with him. Jeremy saw me as I was leaving Elena’s room.

“Are you ok, Ry?” Jeremy asked, and I knew that if I didn’t leave soon, then I would be in trouble.

“I’m fine Jer, but I really have to go.” I replied as I tried to move past him, but he grabbed my wrist.

“What’s wrong Ryleigh? And don’t say nothing because I know that something is bothering you.” Jeremy asked as he looked down at me.

“It’s the fact that my cousin and the guy, who keeps saying that he loves me and wants me back, want to be with each other. I’m tired of being lied to, and now that I know what’s going on, I can move on with my life.” I replied as I looked up at him.

Jeremy was shocked by what I said, and I took that moment to rush out the door, and rush home. When I got there, Tyler was waiting on me. I let him in, and we talked about everything, well, almost everything. We finally fell asleep, and I thought that everything would balance out, but I guess not because what I didn't know was that Elijah was watching us.